A Birdhouse for Springtime

 It is springtime.The  earth is waking up.The birds are singing.  It is a time of rebirth, of looking to nest and create. Tomorrow is Easter.

This is a picture of my ceramic birdhouse which I actually created for a show with just that theme. It is rather large, standing eleven inches high and about eight inches wide and deep. I made it from clay slabs joined together. Always a risk of bending or cracking with this size. I added a nice stick to use as a focal point and an entrance. I chose  a  metallic glaze for the roof and a celadon, or light green,for the  walls. It is actually a low fired piece. I achieved the crackle from my second and final outdoor primitive firing. I wanted a certain earthiness.  I wished to bring the outdoors inside.  

The fence outside is my western touch, and also to amuse. I like to have a piece of whimsy in my folk art. I even created a ceramic bird that likes to hang out nearby. This house has never been outside a showroom. I can't tell if it is a functional item for some creature, or simply  a creative birdhouse. I guess that would be the choice of the buyer, and their possible feathered friends !  

The Horse Box

Writing about my kitty box made me realize that I really do like to put animals on my artwork. This piece is entitled the " Horse Box", and is a handmade porcelain container, with lid. It  measures about seven by ten inches, with tail and mane. For this vessel I chose a red and celadon green color scheme. Who says my critters can't be any color I choose to make them? Naturally, being a horse, it has to have a tail and mane, and what better material to use than the real thing? I do like to make art that can make the viewer smile. 
When I recently redid my website, at www.claywrite.com
I put in a section entitled Masks and Folk Art. I consider folk art to be about things in everyday life, often created in a somewhat primitive style. I went to look up a better definition in my art history books, and I could not find one. So this is my definition and my Horse Box  is an example of  my folk art. 
Comments?